Shane Greene’s contract is an absolute steal for Braves

The Atlanta Braves brought back reliever Shane Greene on a surprisingly cheap contract, giving their bullpen a boost without breaking the bank.

Shane Greene is coming back to Atlanta for the 2021 season with a deal that favors the Braves, big time.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Greene signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract to run it back in Atlanta.

The deal between Greene and the Braves was finally agreed on Sunday.

The weird thing is how cheap Atlanta was able to get the pitcher. His surface-level numbers probably warranted something more.

Shane Greene’s contract is an absolute steal

The Braves traded with the Tigers to add Greene to their bullpen in 2019. He maintained an ERA of 4.01 in 27 games that season. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he posted a solid 2.60 ERA in 27.2 innings.

Greene entered 2021 as a free agent, but he hadn’t found a team by the start of May.

Atlanta had extra incentive to bring him back after a month of action because of their struggling bullpen. For that price, it’s an absolute no-brainer of a move.

The question is if the 31-year-old really can help the Braves as a reliever. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports pointed out some of the reasons Greene didn’t attract more attention as a free agent and a significantly more lucrative contract: His strikeout and walk rates dipped in 2020 while advanced stats didn’t bode well for his trajectory.

The Braves will possibly benefit from those concerns by getting Greene back on a cut-rate deal. It’s just a matter of figuring out how long he can hold on to his recent productivity.

The best-case scenario is Greene replicates his 2020 performance. The worst-case is his arm really has gone. If that’s the case, Atlanta can take heart in not breaking the bank on him.